Dem rep: Obama told us if the tax deal doesn’t pass, it’s the end of his presidency

posted at 7:25 pm on December 15, 2010 by Allahpundit

“The White House is putting on tremendous pressure, making phone calls, the president is making phone calls saying this is the end of his presidency if he doesn’t get this bad deal,” he told CNN’s Eliot Spitzer.

Obama’s push shows that the president is going to the mat in order to push through Congress the compromise brokered with Republicans.

During the end of the healthcare debate, Obama reportedly told Democrats upset that the bill did not contain a public healthcare option that not passing it could put his presidency on the line and stall the liberal agenda for decades.

Remember, DeFazio’s one of the leaders of the liberal revolt in the House against the deal. Let’s say he looked at the whip count and concluded that there aren’t enough progressive no votes to stop the bill — provided that most Republicans, a few tea-party stalwarts notwithstanding, continue to support it. He may figure that instead of trying to persuade his own side to block it, he’s better off at this point trying to give Republicans a reason to bug out. But what could he, as a liberal, say that would captivate the conservative imagination and kick up a sudden groundswell against the deal? Answer: This, my friends. This.

The only problem with my fiendishly clever theory? As noted in the excerpt, The One has a history of crying to recalcitrant Democrats about his presidency failing, so yeah, he probably really is telling them this. And he’s not entirely wrong, given that as president he’ll take most of the blame from the public if the tax hike goes into effect on January 1. What’s a conscientious Republican who’s worried about the economy to do? Should we … follow the Chris Christie example? Exit quotation:

“Governor Christie supports President Obama and Congressional Republicans’ compromise which ensures that during this difficult economic time no American is subject to a tax increase on January 1st,” Christie spokeswoman Maria Comella told NewsCore in a statement.

“However, if Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic lawmakers use this opportunity to insert additional, out of control spending measures, Governor Christie will oppose any bill amended in that way,” it continued.